Life With Eczema

Hi! I am 17 years old and this is my blog about my journey through Topical Steroid Withdrawal. Feel free to message me with any questions or comments. I hope this blog is helpful! xx http://www.itsan.org

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[life-with-eczema]

I've been a lifelong eczema sufferer and i used topic steroids very little when I was younger, but i don't know if i have tsw or not. my eczema is very scaly and weepy and i have hyperpigmentation all over my body, does this sound like tsw? I haven't used steroids in years, but this year it came back and is worse than ever before. if it isn't tsw, what can i do to treat it? (also showering is the worst, I turn into a bumpy weepy throbbing mess afterwards. please help!!)

I’m not 100% sure because from what i understand, TSW is when you stop the steroids cold turkey and go through a rebound period.  Have you used anything steroidal (including oral or nasal or topical etc) recently before the flare up?  Something i discovered to stop burning in the shower is to put a thin layer of vaseline everywhere before getting in and it calms the burning down by about 70% of me.  I personally swear by vaseline (my mom is trying to get me on something more natural but vaseline got me through the worst of TSW and it’s so accessible).  What I do, that helps a lot, is once getting out of the shower, moisturizing with Vaseline and putting tight clothes on such as leggings and a tank top with a fitting jacket.  It just keeps the moisture locked in without having the clothes being baggy and uncomfortable and (clothes touching me the wrong way used to be/still sometimes is one of my anxiety triggers lol).  Also, use a napkin to softly blot the weepiness.  Another trick I discovered recently.  It makes it stop quicker rather than rubbing it.  Hope that helped a bit! xo

[life-with-eczema]

2 Years TSW

So today is the 2 year TSW mark. Wow I can't believe I made it this far. I feel like I've kind of plateaued at about 65% healed and have my good and bad days but it's all manageable. Thanks ITSAN for giving me the opportunity to live a somewhat normal life. :)

[life-with-eczema]

Hi, It's Rosemarie again. I'd appreciate your sending the info to my email My son is going thru his 18th month of TSW. Here's hoping the next few months are great like yours. Congratulations on your recovery. I'm thrilled for you! Rosemarie

Part 1: Hi, You maintain a great attitude on your blog. What are you studying in college?When you 1st used topical steroids at age 6, where did you have to apply it? Did you have any itching at all or were you given the triamcinolone just to get rid of the redness? What medications did you take for your asthma and allergies, and did the eczema come before or after a/a? Sorry for all the questions, but I am doing some research on TSW and your answers will be helpful. Thank you! Rosemarie

Hi! Aw thank you! I’m as first year student studying exercise science on a pre-pharmacy track! I’m leaning towards clinical pharmacy. So I actually found out o have been using steroids since I was about 1 according to my mom and I’ve always had allergies! Asthma developed later on in life though. I was born with the eczema! I also was extremely itchy since I was born my parents would put mittens on me to try to stop me from scratching so the steroids were to combat both itching and redness. I’ve taken about every antihistamine from Zyrtec to Benadryl to Atarax and a couple of others. I haven’t taken antihistamines though except for allergic reactions in almost a year and a half though. I use Vaseline like it’s my life lol but my mom is trying to make me change that. June 8th will be my 2 year mark! Hope he has a great recovery! Let me know if you have anymore questions :)

[life-with-eczema]

Hello I am a big fan of yours. I am also a eczema victim, and now I am having my withdraw. It has been over a year and a half but I think a I'm on my way to victory, I agree with every thing that you have been posting. Eczema is hell but in a way this withdraw is paradise in the way of making me stronger and letting me know myself. I just wanted to tell you that reading you're blog has definitely helped my mind to understand that I am not alone. So thank you for having a positive mind

HI!  Aw I’m so glad that I could be of some help to you!  I’m almost 2 years now I think! Actually, today is my 22 month mark!

[life-with-eczema]

Do u have a kik or an email to talk about this cuz the thingy won't let me send my message cuz it's slot of words 😒

Yep send me your kik username and I'll message you!

[life-with-eczema]

We'll see my girlfriend has eczema and Shes constantly in pain like on her skin and she sed the drs tried everything thing and it breaks my heart wen she brakes down crying cuz I cry with her I just wanna know Wat can help.. Please and thank you

Wow I am actually touched by this.  I know how she feels and how you must feel.  When you try everything and nothing works it really seems hopeless and frustrating.  How bad is her skin?  I mean obviously i know it must be bad but on a scale from 1-10?  Where your skin is definitely affects the kind of routine you have.  One weird little thing I do is when my skin gets really itchy/dry I itch and then moisturize and then get into bed and like put pressure wherever it’s bothering me.  For example when I do my face, I will essentially press my face into a pillow and it calms it down a lot.  Also something you may be able to do is give massages or if you're up for it, put gloves on and lightly scratch for her. I know for me when I itch, I itch harder than I should and broke down and had anxiety attacks so I would make my mom do it and massage me and what not and it really relaxed me and helped me calm down and regroup.  Is she going through TSW or is still using steroid creams?

[life-with-eczema]

What can you use to make the pain go away on eczema..

What kind of pain are we talking here?  Like skin pain or nerve pain?  For skin pain, there unfortunately isn’t really much you can do other than moisturize and wear clothing that will seal it in.  For nerve pain, I strongly suggest investing in a foot or back massager bc they help loads and alleviate the pain for a little bit.  Idk if that answered your question but hopefully it did, if not let me know and I can try again!  xx

[life-with-eczema]

Hair(:

So remember a while back when I was in the beginning of withdrawal and I lost over 2/3 of my hair? Yeah now most of it has grown back and I'm on a dance team now and the whole team tells me every practice how much they love my hair and how great it looks and that I am hair goals. So there is hope guys. Your hair grows back and you feel great :)

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Truth af

[life-with-eczema]

Hey! I read from another ask that you're about 20 months in and healing nicely. I'm also about 20 months in and my skin was fairly manageable until a couple of weeks ago. I had a horrible flare that set me back quite a bit, my skin hasn't been this bad since my initial withdrawal. Anyways, I wanted to know what you're doing (moisturizers, diet, etc) to be so much closer to healing than I am. I realize we all heal at different rates but I'm just about at my wits end. Any advice?

I'm gonna be totally honest… I only use vaseline (and shea butter on my face) and I eat whatever I feel like eating lol.  I think what it is for me though is that I started college at 14 months I believe and since then I have been improving a lot because I have been distracted, but when I go home I start to have mini-flares.  So yeah distraction helps a lot and also because you are around people all the time you don't/can't focus on your skin as much or don't have the time to itch as long as you normally would.

[life-with-eczema]

i have eczema and i found out about itsan yesterday. i quit steroids, but i don't understand this: how do you know that after TSW your eczema iz gone FOREVER?itsan has not been around for long and you have no proof that it won't come back?

I'm sorry I'm just seeing this now! and I personally haven't reached the point of 100% healed but I know of so many people who have.  Once you get through the initial part you will truly see how much better everything is.  I am about 20 months I believe into TSW and I basically live a normal life, I am just a bit itchy and I have a moisturizing schedule.  But some people don't even realize I have eczema until I make a point to tell them or if they see me moisturizing my face because my face tends to get dry quicker.  Once I get to 100% I'll let ya know lol but overall, I am about 75% and it hasn't regressed.  I have been so much healthier and happier and even if I have little patches of eczema that linger in the future, I will still be grateful for ITSAN.

[life-with-eczema]

Merry Christmas!!!

Hope everyone has a great holiday season full of good health and happiness :) xx

[life-with-eczema]

18 months

A bit over 18 months in TSW and am so much healthier and happier. Still have a lot of progress to make but man I have come so far.

[life-with-eczema]

Hiya, I'm taking a day off from school (I'm 14) because my eczema's so bad :( it just came up under my eye and it looks like I've been punched in the face or something :/ Urm I just wanted to ask if you could give me some tips or something on how to deal with all the staring and the questions. Would mean allot x thankyou :)

Hi! Oh man swollen eyes are the worst.  I used to skip school too because it was so annoying.  People may say things like "What's wrong with your face?" or "Why do you look so tired?" or "Are you sick or something?"  Honestly, the only thing you really can do is explain to them that the eczema on your face is breaking out really badly.  I find that the reason people stare is that they don't really understand what is going on and once I explain it to them they drop it and it isn't an issue again.  People are curious and will give some looks but just stay strong and be open about it and you will feel a lot better! xx 

[life-with-eczema]

Heyyy, i'm sure you are aware of ITSAN because you are going through TSW but coulld you please link the website on your blog? i feel like it could help a lot of people! x

yep, of course! good idea xx

[life-with-eczema]

I'm having the worst flare of my life right now, it's actually so great to know that people out there can deal with it, makes me feel like I can too:)

Oh no!! I'm so sorry.  Hang in there girl you can do this!!